TR, summer 2021 Utah

[dave54]

A trip report to Utah in August and September.

After entering for three years to win the lottery for The Wave in Kanab UT, Patty said we could try for a walkup permit. But she insisted this was going to be our only attempt. We were not going to keep returning every year for a try – too many other places on our bucket list. We picked a week to try (the week following Labor Day, Sept 6-13. We then pored over maps and other sources to expand the trip. She wanted to check out the Flaming Gorge area, after we had a one-day drive-through a few years ago. I had heard the fishing was good in the Uinta backcountry, so we decided to spend a week there. Added the Mirror Lake section of the Uintas for another week. I wanted to check out Cedar Breaks National Monument, so added that in. Then head to Kanab.
The week before we were scheduled to leave, the Dixie Fire made a big run and our entire town was evacuated. Since our RV was already mostly loaded and ready to go, we headed to out daughter’s home in Susanville and parked the rig in front.
We decided to take the trip anyway. No point in being miserable breathing smoke when we had already made arrangements to travel.
On the anointed day of departure, highway 395 to Reno was closed due to the fire. That was our intended route to I-80. Consulting the map we saw an alternative route north to Lakeview OR, then highway 140 to Winnemucca. This took us through some country I had never seen before, but it added a couple hours to our planned first stop in Wells, NV.
The next day Wells was overcast and showery, and the first leg across I-80 and the Bonneville Salt Flats was very windy with intermittent horizontal rain. Patty drove the RV to Wendover, then said ‘No More!” It was more than she was comfortable with. So I took over driving across the Flats. It was a workout for me. Not a fun drive. After Salt Lake City the rain and wind let up and the drive was more pleasant. Up 80 to Evanston and Fort Bridger, WY, then headed south to Flaming Gorge.
The entire area was very nice, and not a lot of crowds. The fishing was great, although it was all small cutthroat and a rainbow. Used an elk hair caddis then switched to a nymph-looking thing a local fly shop recommended. Both worked. Released them all.

Patty went horseback riding while I mountain biked some trails. Day hiked to some lakes in the Uinta Wilderness. Should have brought my collapsible pack pole because everyone else on the trail was carrying one, although I did not see anyone catch anything. Did the wildlife viewing and scenic drive thing in the area. I highly recommend the Sheep Creek Geologic Byway if in the area. You drive through the fault zone that created the Uinta Range and the rock folding is spectacular.

Along the shore of Flaming Gorge Reservoir were stopped in the road by a humungous herd of Pronghorn crossing the road. Hundreds of animals all around our truck.

Time for our next segment of the trip. Stayed in a private campground right on the South Fork Provo River. The first morning we had to make an unplanned trip into Kamas to launder the bedsheets. Dog got sick. So we spent the morning in a laundromat cleaning the bedding. While there, we saw a Sportsman’s Warehouse store. Remembering they post local fishing information in the store we popped in. According to their bulletin board, the Upper Provo River (where we were camped) was hot right then, and the clerk recommended a particular nymph pattern. I bought it, and Patty asked what was good for a spinning pole. The clerk shrugged and said he didn’t know, but some people reported success with a yellow rooster tail. Next day at the campground we walked to the river from out campsite (literally a dozen steps) and threw in the lines. Patty nailed an 18 inch Brown Trout on her first cast. I, however, was skunked on the recommended nymph and everything else I tried. Oh well, still had a trout dinner.
Went hiking around the Mirror Lake area. Packed with campers and day users from the Salt Lake City area.
On the anointed day we headed south to Cedar Breaks. Rainy and foggy. Headed up the hill through Brian Head. That road is very steep in places, lots of curves, and the altitude made the truck work hard. At Point Supreme campground we set up camp, where we learned the refrigerator would not work on propane at 10,000 feet. We had success at 8500 feet before. But not at 10,000. We could run it 120V from the generator so we let the gennie run all day until the mandatory quiet time of 10 pm (yeah, we were one of those people…). I am sure the other campers around us were happy. ☹
There is not a lot of hiking in Cedar Breaks itself, a few short trails. We did them all. Lots of photos from each of the viewpoints. Spent one day driving up to Brian Head Peak and around that area. A sizable Pika and marmot population at the peak.

Cascade Falls is an interesting waterfall. Instead of pouring over the lip of the rock cliff, the falls erupt from a fissure in the cliff. We took the 1.5 mile trail to the falls, along with several hundred other people as this was the Labor Day weekend. Arriving at the falls we found nothing. Dry as a bone. Not even a damp spot. But we did find lots of places to disperse camp in the area. If you ever head that way and do not want to stay in the Point Supreme Campground and are self contained, I suggest staying just outside the boundaries of the National Monument on National Forest land. Plenty of places to drive a short ways on dirt two-tracks into the forest and set up camp in quiet with no restrictive rules. Plenty of other people do. The entire area was peppered with dispersed campers in RVs and outfitter tents.

Time to move on to Kanab and try our hand at the lottery.

First morning we got up early and headed to the local community center/gymnasium where the lottery is held for the next day permits. After completing our paperwork, the BLM staff explained the process. There are 40 people or 20 permits issued each day. Half go to the mail in requests (that I previously attempted), and the remaining are part of the daily walk up permits. About 25 people showed up for their chance. They had 4 permits or 10 people remaining after the mail-were awarded for tomorrow. The number changes depending on how many people and/or permits were issued for the mail-in requests. The selection is made from a little round cage/numbered ball device commonly used for bingo games. First number called was a trio from Poland. Second called was US! The two remaining went to a couple from Thailand and a group from Wisconsin. After dismissing everyone else the BLM Wilderness Ranger gave us the required orientation speech. He warned us about the heat, the predicted high temperature tomorrow was around 100 degrees. He went on about the route into the Wave. About three miles, and there is no maintained trail. There is a route to follow with signs every so often. Most of the route is on the barren sandstone slickrock. He kept reiterating about how strenuous it is, people get lost, heatstroke, etc. He made it sound like the route is the Bataan Death March into the Bermuda Triangle. (hint: it’s not).
Armed with this information, we returned to our campground and starting getting ready for tomorrow. I filled two hydration bladders, one for her pack and one for mine, plus all the extra water bottles I could fit in my pack. We were carrying 11 liters of water between us, mostly me. Plus I had the food, cameras, and usual extra gear. I groaned as I hoisted the pack on my back.
Arising while still dark we headed to the trail head. It was still dark when we arrived (planning on getting there and starting back before it got too hot). The trailhead already was filled with cars. It was barely light when we started hiking, and surprisingly cool. The first part of the route is up a sandy wash, then leave the wash and head south though a sandy scrub patch. It was soft sand, well chewed up from all the previous hikers. Up and over some slickrock. Through a fence gate. I have no idea why there is a wire fence there. State line? Continue over more slickrock, finally ascending a sandy slope to the entrance to Wave complex.
The Wave does live up to its hype. The bizarre shapes of the rocks and canyon walls is truly spectacular. The route is one incredible photograph after another. We took a couple hours to hike the three miles because about every other step is a Kodak moment.

Then you enter the Wave and your mind is blown. Spent a couple hours exploring the side canyons and taking photos, then decided it was time to hike out.

It was now hot and got hotter. I handled the heat fine, kept drinking from my bladder until it was empty then poured the water bottles in. Patty, though, did not do as well. She is not used to using a hydration bladder and did not sip enough as she hiked. About half way back I took almost everything out of her pack except the bladder and put it in mine. Still, she was really struggling. I was getting very concerned and she was close to heat exhaustion. Made her take a break at every shady spot we passed and kept pouring water in her and on her. At about the third water bottle over her head she began feeling better and we made it to the trailhead just as our water ran out. Luckily, we had a cooler full of ice, cold water, and drinks in the truck. The slickrock acts like a reflective oven. Do not underestimate how hot that area gets in summer. Except for the heat, the hike was not strenuous and following the route is not difficult. Follow all the other footprints and people. If you have any cross country hiking experience you will have no problem. In a few places you ascend a steep slope for 100 feet or so. The rest is rolling to flat.

The next day was spent in rest and recovery (hers). Then we continued to explore the area. Went to North Rim of the Grand Canyon as I had never been to the north, only the south. I think I prefer the North Rim. Spent a day on some other local hikes into an area of hoodoos called Toadstools. About 1 mile to a set of narrow rock spires topped with larger darker rocks. They looked like (you guessed it ~) mushrooms. A short hike into Catstairs Canyon with a large rock canyon wall covered in petroglyphs. Continuing into canyon another half mile leads to a sheer sided box canyon. Another short hike north of Kanab, right off the highway, leads to several sets of dinosaur tracks in the rock.

Heading home from Kanab we stopped for a few days in Pioche, NV. A small town out in the middle of nowhere. What drew me was Cathedral Gorge State Park and its amazing labyrinth of slot canyons. Another interesting sight in the area is Kershaw-Ryan State Park. In the middle of a dry barren stark landscape outside Caliente NV is an amazing oasis. The original settler in the area found this canyon with springs and a creek. Spent the next several years planting trees, flowers, and landscaping plants, built fish ponds, and developed a Garden of Eden in the middle of a hellish landscape.

The history of Pioche is amusing. The Million Dollar Courthouse is a bit of colorful history. Originally budgeted for $26,000, bonds were issued, and subsequently refinanced with more bonds, refinanced again, with some of the bond proceeds evidently ending up in private pockets, and the final cost of the Courthouse when finished was close to one million dollars. Pioche was a wide open mining town. According to local lore, the town cemetery had 6 deaths from ‘lead poisoning’ before the first death from natural causes. The Boot Hill section of the cemetery is interesting. The simple wood headstones have been more or less preserved, with epitaphs reading “Shot over a dispute about a dog” and “Feared by some. Respected by few. Detested by others. Shot in back 5 times from ambush”.

The two BLM Wilderness Areas east of Pioche look interesting on the map. Parsnip Peak and White Rock Wilderness receive enough rain and snow for good vegetative cover and are forested in many areas. No trails or campsites, even road access to the edges looks difficult. On google earth the hiking does not appear too difficult with lots of springs and water sources. I could not afford the time to explore those this trip, and likely will not go back. But maybe, if I find myself in the area again…

Finally headed home. 5 weeks total. Returned home to a blackened landscape all around town, but no losses to any buildings. We escaped damage, Greenville did not. Chester lost a few buildings on the outskirts.

So I knocked The Wave and Cedar Breaks off my bucket list. Both of us liked the Flaming Gorge and Uinta area. Plan on going back. I am still penciling out next summer’s trip. I am trying to map out a trip to Theodore Roosevelt NP but it is so far away from anything else it is hard to work out a trip there that does not involve days of empty driving. I try to limit towing the RV to 400 miles per day max. More than that just beats me up too much to enjoy the trip. If I do make it to TRNP, then I may as well continue on to another dream bucket list trip to Voyageur NP/Boundary Waters.

[Wandering Daisy]

Great road trip! I have driven past the Uinta Mountains many times and wondered what the backpacking would be like. Did your day-hiking give you any idea of what a backpack would be like? My husband and I also have driven by the North Rim of Grand Canyon, only to be there a bit too early and missed the opening of the road every time. Another place I would like to get to. When you got home, was everything OK? Fires are so devistating.

[Harlen]

Nice travels, glad you had such successful trips. What a lot of fine sights you must've had. Cheers, Ian.